5 Tips for Keeping Rabbits Out of Your Vegetable Patch

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Bunnies might look innocent, but they can bring devastation to a carefully tended vegetable patch. To avoid all your hard work going to waste, you need to take action to banish rabbits from your garden before your vegetables begin to grow. Follow these tips to create a rabbit-proof garden that can protect your veggies from harm.

1. Build a Rabbit-Proof Fence

Rabbits can squeeze through very tiny spaces, so you need to construct a fence that doesn't have any gaps. Fine-mesh chicken wire is a suitable fencing material, but steer clear of fences that have larger spaces between the wires. You also need to ensure that your fence extends roughly eight inches below the ground, with the bottom edge of the wire pointing outward in an L-shape, as otherwise the rabbits will simply dig underneath it.

2. Electrify Your Fence

Discourage rabbits from interfering with your fence by electrifying it. If you install two hot wires, one roughly two inches from the ground and the other at about four inches, any rabbits that touch your fence will complete the circuit between the two wires and receive a nasty shock. Electric fences don't kill rabbits, but the shock discourages them from approaching the fence.

3. Use Rabbit Repellents

Rabbits don't like to spend time in areas that are frequented by predators, such as foxes and coyotes. You can convince them that your garden is dangerous by spraying fox urine around the edge of your garden. You don't have to collect the urine yourself; many large garden centres offer it for sale. Remember to reapply the urine once every one or two weeks or after heavy rain.

4. Squirt the Rabbits With Water

A sudden blast of water doesn't harm rabbits, but it can startle them and make them run for cover. Install a motion-sensitive sprinkler system in your garden, which will squirt any invading rabbits with cold water, while also giving your thirsty plants a drink. Just don't forget to turn the system off before you head out to pick some herbs for dinner!

5. Use a Guard Dog

A pet dog can be an excellent deterrent for hungry rabbits. If the weather is warm enough for your dog to sleep outside, consider building him a kennel close to the vegetable patch, so he can guard your crops throughout the night, when rabbits are most active. Only the very bravest rabbits will risk entering a garden when a dog is present.


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